My Spent Life in 2009

This is my review for 2009. A year spent away from my family and familiar friends back home. Time can only go on and passes by but what have I done for this year? Let me take a peek back to that day when I flew back to Utah, US upon changing my visa.

I remembered that I lost my job in Singapore and found another in Utah. It was a moment of lost and un-expectancy as I prepare to relocate to Utah for at least two years. I knew from the very moment as I was being laid off from my job, God will be providing for me. Therefore, I did not worry about my job. I was simply numb to all the circumstances around me at that time.

Being single does have its own share of perks because for me to relocate to Utah was not too tedious. I only have to make sure I bring my laptop and also an IP phone (not IPhone) with me so that I can call back to my family. Most of my stuffs were still at an American friend’s house and so it wasn’t too tough for me. Upon being granted my working visa, I flew back to Utah on Dec 12, 2008 and amazingly, one year has already gone on.

This year has also passed by real fast, like all the other previous years. The last 12 months have been a time of living on my own to take care of myself, learning how to maintain a 2003 Ford Mustang Convertible and trying out new cooking recipes. Not forgetting picking up a new sports which is snowboarding. It was also a period of working with my wonderful colleagues on shift and laughing at their sick jokes. I guess time really flies when you are having fun.

As usual with all my New Year resolutions for the previous years, I did not really fulfill mine this year even though there is only one resolution. Hence, I am remaking this New Year resolution again which is to read through the Bible from cover to cover and memorize a verse from each of the sixty-six books of the Bible. I have already got a head start (haha…) as I am now already in 1 Samuel but the progress is still real slow.

2009 was also a year of recovery and healing for me although at the end of it, I am still lost and awaiting for God’s leading (if any) to someone who can encourage me in my walk with Him. I really hope to find a nice lady who can beat me with a cane if I fail to read the Bible daily as I need some discipline in this area and probably some motivation as I am thinking if there is a nice girl to read the Bible with me everyday, it will be fabulous. Anyway, this may be just my wishing thinking after all and the focus is all so wrong!

For all my Singaporean friends out there on the other side of the globe, I will be coming back for the Chinese New Year in 2010. As for the rest of the people on this side of the globe, have a blessed new year and I catch up with all of you again in 2010.

May our beloved God and Savior bless all of you!

The Birth of a Savior

Jesus' Birth in Bethlehem

Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth. This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria.

And everyone was on his way to register for the census, each to his own city.

Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, in order to register along with Mary, who was engaged to him, and was with child.

While they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth.

And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night.

And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened.

But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

"This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased."

When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, "Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us."

So they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger. When they had seen this, they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child. And all who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds.

But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart.

The shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them.

陳奕迅 - 聖誕結

Snowboarding, anyone? =)

陳奕迅 - 不如這樣

Mary's Boy Child

... Man will live forevermore because of Christmas Day...

Focus Your Eyes & Behold

Fell down big time last Friday during a snowboarding session. A great deal of pain went through my nerve systems and I had to sit at the slopes for a good five minutes before picking myself up again to continue to journey to the base. I hurt my wrist and for the snowboarding experts out there, the exact term is Scaphoid Fracture. Yes, there is some swelling at the base of my thumb area outside the wrist.

I was watching some YouTube videos the night before on how to link turns in Snowboarding which actually means to try to coordinate your heelside tranversing with toeside tranversing. Managed to do just that on the bunny hill but as I tried to perform the same technique on the intermediate slope, lost my balance and fell thereby hurting my right wrist.

One special note as advised by the instructor on the YouTube videos was to always remember to look at where do you want to go in snowboarding. This is the key. For instance, if you are going down the slope on your toeside, you will definitely need to look up the hill. Surprisingly, this simple glance up the hill will prevent you from falling. Therefore, where do you look as you are descending on your snowboard is very crucial.

As I recuperate from my first wrist injury sustained from snowboarding, God opened my eyes to see one principle in my walk with Him. My eyes need to be fixed upon Jesus in order that I can look away from myself and focus all my attention upon Him. This is the key which all of us as children of God should hold on to.

To keep myself from falling as I snowboard, I will need to just look at where I am going. Similarly, to keep myself from falling into sin, I will just need to fix my eyes on Jesus alone. A. W. Tozer put it plainly in his book, “The Pursuit of God” in this way, ‘Faith is a redirecting of our sight, a getting out of focus of my own vision and getting God into focus. Sin has twisted our vision inward and made it self-regarding. Unbelief has put self where God should be…’

My brothers and sisters in Christ, this is a simple principle and if you take this to your heart, I believe you will be just like me during snowboarding that once I glance up the hill, I am not falling at all! We need to keep our focus right! In other words, once you constantly fix your eyes upon Jesus, you will not be falling into sin which literally means disobedience to God. As I reflect on my past Christian walk with Christ for the last eight years, I can truly confess that every time I sin against God in whatever ways is because of the fact that I was not fixing my eyes upon Jesus in that moment and I fell directly to the lust of my own flesh.

We need to get God into focus. The single fact of putting the only True God of the Bible out of the picture will only complicate things. Once God being our Creator is taken out, we can only have the Big Bang Theory, Evolution and broken relationships. The moment when we turned our backs on our Creator, we realized that everything has become relative. There are no longer absolute moral values because there is no Greater Being to make the call! Everything is right in certain ways and context so long you feel happy. This is the danger and this is exactly what the devil so desires.

We need to get back into focus with Christ. Let’s mediate on this verse today, shall we?

… fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. ~Hebrews 12:2

Impressive Snowboarders!